Safety during system downtime

In order to carry out maintenance work in refineries, power plants and similar industrial facilities, a plant shutdown must be avoided. take place. This is also known as a shutdown or turnaround (TAR). Without this process, it would be impossible or far too dangerous to carry out maintenance work or expand the system.

In the case of continuously operating industrial facilities (e.g. in the chemical industry), a plant shutdown is scheduled at recurring intervals. In refineries, there are normally 5 years between individual shutdowns. A plant shutdown can also occur outside of this interval if defects are detected or the facility is to be expanded unscheduled. 

Even if the system shutdown is carried out regularly, it is not a routine procedure. Employees often experience no more than 2 or 3 shutdowns in the same company during their time with the company. For this reason, many companies rely on external service providers to help them manage the execution phase of the turnaround and ensure the safety of employees during maintenance.

In the following, we explain what is important in turnaround management and what aspects characterise a successful turnaround. In addition to economic aspects, the main focus is on safety and quality of execution.

Mastering the 4 phases of the turnaround cycle

Thorough planning must be carried out before a plant shutdown to ensure that it is carried out safely, quickly and with the desired quality. Every day of plant downtime costs plant operators millions, which is why companies often cannot afford accidents and irregularities in the process. 

There are four important phases, which can also be described as the turnaround cycle:

• Initial planning: Every system has its own specific requirements. Therefore, the first step is to plan the scope of the project in order to be able to better estimate the total cost. The work and environment planning is then derived from this. A rough schedule is also developed in this phase.

• Planning phase: In the next step, work plans and schedules are drawn up in which the previously roughly defined deadlines are concretised. In this context, precise resource planning is also necessary. Particular attention must be paid to safety. This is because the turnaround is an exceptional situation in which work that is not routine is carried out under time pressure. The aim of planning is to effectively prevent injuries or fatalities during maintenance work.

• Execution phase: During the execution phase, the system comes to a complete standstill. In addition to cleaning the systems, damaged pipes and other components are also replaced or changes are made to the system structure. In order to avoid costly delays, professional security guards, manhole guards and fire watches ensure that everything runs smoothly. The process is continuously documented. Despite careful planning, unexpected situations can always arise during the execution phase. The team must react quickly and with a cool head in order to initiate the right measures.

• Evaluation & Analysis: This is why it is so important to document the work steps carried out so that the entire plant shutdown can be precisely evaluated and analysed afterwards. From this, findings can be derived that help the entire company to maintain quality during the next shutdown.

Backup posts are crucial to the success of the shutdown

The safety and quality of the turnaround stands and falls with the training of the employees carrying out the work. The time schedule for maintenance work is often tight, as plant downtime leads to high losses for the plant operator due to loss of production.

In order to ensure that everything runs smoothly, the work must be carried out by professional safety supervisors must be checked. This applies to cutting and welding work and other work involving a fire hazard, as well as work in containers or at great heights. Safety guards, manhole guards and fire guards check the workers' protective equipment, secure the work site and monitor the maintenance work using measuring devices and checking limit values, as well as through continuous communication with the fitters carrying out the work.

External security companies for the shutdown 

Training security guards in-house is very time-consuming and costly. It is also possible that the investment does not pay off at all because the appropriately trained employee leaves the company before the plant shutdown or is ill on the day of the shutdown. In addition, a large number of trained security guards are needed at certain points during the shutdown to ensure the highest possible level of safety. Most companies are unable to map this reliably.

Many system operators commission therefore external security companies for ensuring safety during the turnaround. Either the company's own staff can be augmented by additional security guards or an entire team can be commissioned to take over control and responsibility as an external service provider.

We from the Paffen Security Service have specialised in the requirements associated with shutdown safety. We not only leave you Fire item and Security guard for the duration of the assignment, but also provide you with entire well-oiled teams with team leaders and project managers. In this way, we ensure that our safety supervisors are deployed efficiently and smoothly and that the turnaround can be completed within the set time frame.

Occupational safety during system downtime

Incidents during plant shutdowns can not only result in economic problems for the plant operator. Accidents can also have serious consequences for the employees involved. For this reason, the safety of fitters is of particular importance during plant shutdowns.

To ensure occupational safety, various safety supervisors are deployed during a plant shutdown to monitor all work during maintenance, prevent accidents and provide first aid in an emergency.

• Security guard plan and check the safety precautions at the workplace and the protective clothing of the fitters. Safety marshals also check that measures to ensure safety are adhered to at all times during work. In addition to prevention and ongoing condition monitoring, the safety marshals intervene in acute hazards and emergency situations and notify the emergency services if necessary.

• Manhole guards are used when working in confined spaces and sealed containers. They are responsible for checking protective equipment and use measuring devices and technical early warning devices (such as gas detectors) to keep an eye on parameters such as temperature, oxygen content and other limit values for the employee at work. The manhole guard always maintains contact with the person currently working in the container. Should an incident occur, the manhole guard must inform the employee or even rescue them in an absolute emergency.

• Fire watches and fire marshals have the task of ensuring safety during welding work and other work involving a fire hazard. If there is a risk of fire, the deployment of fire guards is essential. Fire guards secure the workplace and monitor the work that poses a fire hazard. They are also specifically trained to intervene effectively in the event of a fire and prevent it from spreading.

Paffen security service for maximum security

At Paffen Sicherheitsdienst, we are ideally equipped to meet the high demands of a successful turnaround. We can provide you with the required number of suitable security personnel to meet this special challenge safely, with high quality and economically.

To high demands on security guards, Site security and other security supervisors at all times, we train our security staff ourselves. In addition to in-depth training, our employees undergo regular further training. This means you can be sure that the best possible safety is ensured during your plant shutdown.